Farway Castle earthwork enclosure

A Scheduled Monument in Sidmouth, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.753 / 50°45'10"N

Longitude: -3.1912 / 3°11'28"W

OS Eastings: 316062.550343

OS Northings: 95499.315887

OS Grid: SY160954

Mapcode National: GBR P9.XV6B

Mapcode Global: FRA 4763.2L1

Entry Name: Farway Castle earthwork enclosure

Scheduled Date: 22 November 1950

Last Amended: 10 April 1996

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1014243

English Heritage Legacy ID: 24851

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Sidmouth

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Farway St Michael and All Angels

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

The monument includes Farway Castle, an earthwork enclosure identified as an
Iron Age farmstead situated in south east Devon 8km south of Honiton on the
high ground of an extensive Greensand plateau where it forms the watershed of
the south-flowing River Sid.
The monument is sited within a plantation of trees on a wide ridge of level
ground. It includes a large circular enclosure of some 53m diameter created by
a bank with an external ditch. The bank is 7.5m in overall width and 0.5m-0.8m
in height above the internal ground surface. It has a gradual inner slope, a
flat top, and a steep outer face falling directly into the ditch. The ditch is
between 2m and 4m in width and 0.5m deep, with a gradual outer slope. It is
subject to seasonal waterlogging in the south west quadrant. The circuit of
the enclosure is complete, with no breaks in the bank, or causeways across the
ditch. The overall diameter of the monument is c.76m.
The earliest known reference to the monument is in an inventory of the
mid-18th century compiled by Dean Milles. It was also recorded in 1868 by
Kirwan. The earthwork appears to have been modified, and one or more entrances
were destroyed when the bank was converted into a continuous field boundary in
the 18th or 19th centuries to separate a new plantation of trees from
surrounding heathland. Some of the larger round barrows in the vicinity have
also been modified, and have supporting documentary evidence of their reuse.
The enclosure lies adjacent to the round barrow cemetery on Farway Hill. A
bronze palstave was found in the vicinity of the enclosure in the 19th
century.
Within the protected area all fence posts are excluded from the monument,
although the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The size and form of Iron Age enclosed settlements vary considerably from
single farmsteads up to large semi-urban oppida. Farmsteads are generally
represented by curvilinear enclosures containing evidence of a small group of
circular domestic buildings and associated agricultural structures. Where
excavated, these sites are also found to contain storage pits for grain and
other produce, evidence of an organised and efficient farming system. The
surrounding enclosures would have provided protection against cattle rustling
and tribal raiding.
In central southern England, most enclosed Iron Age farmsteads are situated in
areas which are now under intensive arable cultivation. As a result, although
some examples survive with upstanding earthworks, the majority have been
recorded as crop- and soil-marks appearing on aerial photographs.

Farway Castle survives as a substantial earthwork despite some superficial
modification, and its degree of survival is unusual for this class of
monument. It also has no clear local parallels. It lies in close proximity to
the round barrow cemetery on Farway Hill which comprises the central area of
one of the most extensive and densest concentrations of Bronze Age (2000-
700 BC) burial mounds in Devon. The monument and its relationship with the
barrows constitutes a valuable archaeological resource for understanding
prehistoric land use patterns in east Devon.

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